Programme and Project Portfolio Management Blog (PPM)

Managing PPM as a Change Project

The only constant in business today is continuous change. A META Group study showed that half of Global 2000 companies adopt some form of project portfolio management but less than 10% of these increased the portfolio value by 30% or more. Each of the other attempts became yet another failed project…

Our own experience has shown that all PPM projects have to be managed as change management initiatives. The leadership involvement and cultural change expected from stakeholders is essential for the successful completion of the project portfolio process.

Planning for change is important but only if it leads to valued organisation-enhancing outcomes. The project portfolio management team (PPMT) must understand the desired outcomes from introducing a PPM process and must prepare a detailed communication plan in order to gain buy- in from stakeholders before the process is introduced. During the execution stages of the plan the PPMT must ensure that managing change among stakeholders and users is paramount in the implementation strategy.

Fundamental to the success of a PPM project is the role of the portfolio sponsor who must act as a change leader. This individual needs to understand the type of change and readiness of the organisation in order to understand how best to lead the process and to decide how much time to spend on deliverables and objectives of the process and on building a shared vision of the future.

Building a Risk Management Framework

The ultimate success of your project will depend on resolving the issues and risks associated with implementing a PPM process and solution in your organisation as well as quantifying benefits and savings. You need to be sure that the chosen solution is fit for purpose and will solve business issues – not add to your problems! You need to ensure that the benefits and savings will work in various aspect before you procure and implement the system

Typical areas to address include:
Technology

• Does the proposed system run fast enough?
• Will it require additional infrastructure?
• How easy will it be to transfer data?
• Does the software interface with existing systems?

Culture

• Will people find the new system easy to use?
• Does the system use familiar terminology?
• How does the system fit with existing or proposed procedures?
• Where does it fit within your project management maturity environment?

Answering these questions using traditional evaluation techniques can be difficult and proactive management of risk is vital. Since PPM deployment is a change management project we recommend implementing a project based risk management framework.

Within the framework we establish possible events or circumstances that may have a negative effect on the project and put in place a contingency plan to reduce or eliminate the risk.

Some factors that need to be taken into consideration

• Description – the nature of the risk

• Precautions – consider what can be done to mitigate the risk

• Consequences – the possible effects if the risk occurred

• Identification – choosing unique identifiers for referring to the same risk in company or project documents

• Risk status – classification as new, ongoing or closed

• Risk escalation – estimating the probability of the risk becoming a liability

• Schedule impact – estimating the consequences in terms of time/budget for the project

In order to manage project based risk it is essential that a risk management plan is drawn up for the project and that specific responsibilities are allocated for activities and tasks. Moreover the project risk database must be kept up to date and reviewed regularly to ensure that it takes account of any changes.

Establishing Proof of Benefit

What is Proof of Benefit?

A proof of benefit (PoB) is in effect a configurable test environment that enables the business to understand from a real-world perspective how PPM will be delivered to the business. The PoB brings together the software application and processes into one single environment. The software side of the PoB can be hosted as part of a SaaS offering which will obviate the need for an internal server installation and reduce costs and timescales.

The PoB exercise will involve:

Developing and agreeing PoB objectives and scope
Agreeing the issues concerning the existing status of the current processes such as:

time recording
milestone management
project management
resource management
management information production
scenario and project modelling

Agreeing the framework for delivery of the PoB around areas where the business can develop a PPM model and deliver it into the business
Assessing and testing the PPM model and delivering the results back to the business

A PoB Step Process

A PoB will typically involve the following key steps:
Step 1 Objectives and Goals
Step 2 Principles and Scope
Step 3 ‘Current State’ Assessment
Step 4 ‘Future State’ Assessment
Step 5 Gap Analysis Assessment
Step 6 Presenting the Results to the Business